Micah 5:1-4 / Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
In the liturgy, the Church celebrates the nativities of three persons - Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist.
Today, the Church celebrates the nativity of Mary and the date of the birth of Mary is the 8th September.
We may wonder why the 8th September is the birthday of Our Lady.
This date is connected to yet another important date - 8th December - the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
In 1854, on the 8th December, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception of Mary to be an article of faith.
In essence, it means that by the grace of God, Mary was conceived without sin in her mother's womb.
So at the moment of her conception, Mary was freed from sin and that signalled the first stage of God's plan of salvation for mankind.
God prepared Mary to be sinless as as to bear Jesus, the Son of God, in her womb.
So God had a detailed plan as to how to go about fulfilling His promise of salvation for mankind.
So the birthday of Our Lady is not just a day of another devotion to Our Lady. It has its foundations in the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. And the Immaculate Conception is part of this great plan of salvation of mankind.
So God had a carefully thought out plan to save us.
Let us be careful and not to forfeit God's gift of salvation for us, and let us also be grateful for this gift.
Let us also ask Our Lady to pray for us sinners, and let us join her to pray for the salvation of sinners.